humbly seeking input

[Otterclock]

I thought I could do it myself. I'm up to about 25 boards in the last couple months, most of them membranes since I didn't discover mechanical til the end. So far my favorite is a Lenovo Preferred Pro, and settling on it seems like failure. Honestly it's really not a shabby board. Very solid and has an almost authoritarian beauty in its shades of grey and uniform rough finish that covers both body and keys. At 2.8lbs, this board feels like a rubber dome that wishes it were mechanical. It's even fairly tactile, with a discernible bump.

I really like the feel of the cherry blues on my otherwise sketchy quality M10, but I have an aversion to noise while writing, especially high pitch. I like the muffled thud of rubber dome, so I've been speculating that I would like Cherry browns modified with dampening o-rings, but recently I've felt too beaten down from blind purchases to shell out $100+ for experiment #26. My new excitement with keyboards has turned into sadness and defeat.

I honestly feel that the keyboard ranks somewhere near antiseptic and the wheel when it comes to contribution to human progress, but right now it's hindering mine.

I'm not sure if a clear question can be gleaned from that, and I understand the nature of keyboards makes objective input difficult, but you guys don't seem to mind discussing this for its own sake, ha.

[bitflipper]

Sounds like you need a good Topre board to cure your "sadness and defeat". Oneness with cup rubber is an experience of Zen. It is to be achieved by hard work and dedication (to earn the money), then sacrifice (spend the money), and finally silent meditation in a dimly lit room cruising the geekhack forums, gently tapping out your justification for spending so much on a keyboard.

Now your only dilemma is choosing between 87U, 103U, or HHKB.

[Otterclock]

Sounds like you need a good Topre board to cure your "sadness and defeat". Oneness with cup rubber is an experience of Zen. It is to be achieved by hard work and dedication (to earn the money), then sacrifice (spend the money), and finally silent meditation in a dimly lit room cruising the geekhack forums, gently tapping out your justification for spending so much on a keyboard.

I don't doubt it, and the idea of just going forward with a Realforce has been nagging at me. My only quibble aside from the price is that I'm not big on white, and I wish the black had lighter letters. If I got the white, I would probably want to dye the keys teal or something. I make a modest living, so while I could do it, the $230 is scary site-untouched. I love the little bongo sounds it makes, though.

Oneness with cup rubber is an experience of Zen.

That nearly pushed me over the top right there.

[Nonmouse]

If sound reduction is a biggie for you, I'd say Cherry browns might be the answer.  My MX-8100 is pretty quiet (about the same or quieter tan most dome boards I've used), and most of the noise is because I tend to bottom out the keys when I type "fast" (for me).  If I'm going a little slower and paying more attention to the tactile feedback, it's very quiet (not quiet silent, especially the spacebar- it has a "springy" noise on release).  It's also a nice, really solid board.  Kind of big, though and the keys are laid out a little oddly.  Plus, of course, the touchpad takes up space.  I've gotten used to using it instead of a mouse, though, so if you use it, it ends up saving desk space and motion- it's closer than a mouse would be on even a tenkeyless board.  Also, the double-shot keys have a deeper click than the flimsy keys on most boards.  

Of course, there are also other Cherry boards with browns and double-shot keys- but I don't have any, so I can only discuss mine...

[Otterclock]

The MX-8100 definitely appeals to me, as do some of the other incarnations of the browns. I tried a friend's Filco (had the blacks, though), and if the thing came with nicer keys I would have probably ordered one by now. It's definitely a nice board but I'm a little less tolerant of cut corners at that price.

a little nervous with getting one off ebay. I recently got a Cherry 11900 that was busted. I found the blacks too stiff anyway, and it was cheap so no biggie but still. P.S. love the colored text.^

[Mental Hobbit]

So far my favorite is a Lenovo Preferred Pro, and settling on it seems like failure. Honestly it's really not a shabby board. Very solid and has an almost authoritarian beauty in its shades of grey and uniform rough finish that covers both body and keys. At 2.8lbs, this board feels like a rubber dome that wishes it were mechanical. It's even fairly tactile, with a discernible bump.

That's a long list of what you like in that board. So what do you dislike?

I really like the feel of the cherry blues on my otherwise sketchy quality M10, but I have an aversion to noise while writing, especially high pitch. I like the muffled thud of rubber dome, so I've been speculating that I would like Cherry browns modified with dampening o-rings, but recently I've felt too beaten down from blind purchases to shell out $100+ for experiment #26.

If you really like the feel of blues, you might be disappointed of browns. The special crisp tactility in blues comes from the click mechanism.

[Otterclock]

That's a long list of what you like in that board. So what do you dislike?

I knew I should have qualified that, heh. The keys are stiffer than I'd like, and after feeling the crispness (good word) of the cherries, I became fond of mechanical. I imagine I wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of tactility of the blues for the relative quietness and lighter 45g keys of the browns, but who knows.

Though they were too stiff, even the linear cherry blacks had a better feel than the rubber dome.

[Hak Foo]

The MX-8100 definitely appeals to me, as do some of the other incarnations of the browns. I tried a friend's Filco (had the blacks, though), and if the thing came with nicer keys I would have probably ordered one by now. It's definitely a nice board but I'm a little less tolerant of cut corners at that price.

a little nervous with getting one off ebay. I recently got a Cherry 11900 that was busted. I found the blacks too stiff anyway, and it was cheap so no biggie but still. P.S. love the colored text.^

Didjamatic has some 120-key POS boards with Brown switches and double-shot keys on eBay sometimes.

They're not new, but they're not expensive - less than a new Filco or the like.

I sort of want one, but I love the Blues in my MX-3000, and I find the -8200 layout lacking.

[Mental Hobbit]

I imagine I wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of tactility of the blues for the relative quietness and lighter 45g keys of the browns, but who knows.

You wouldn't sacrifice "a bit" of tactility, you'd lose 90%. I'm by no means saying browns are bad, but they feel totally different. Almost linear.

[Nonmouse]

You wouldn't sacrifice "a bit" of tactility, you'd lose 90%. I'm by no means saying browns are bad, but they feel totally different. Almost linear.

Enh, I've got a board with blues right next to my one with browns, and if you ignore the click, the difference in tactile feel is not nearly that great- maybe 50% less on the browns.  The browns are definitely lighter to actuate, and the tactile "bump" is lighter than the blues, but I'd say that it feels like about the same (or nearly) percentage of the overall force.  

The click on the blues certainly makes it easier to tell when they trip, but I can't say that tactiley they're much more noticeable.

[Otterclock]

I've noticed differing opinions on the tactility of brown v. blue (been reading through tons of threads). I respect the qualities of the blue and can definitely see why people like them. The aversion to the click is my own quirk. Sometimes I yell at chirping birds.

[Otterclock]

colloquial clash!

[Otterclock]

One odd thing I've noticed: boards commonly come in either 19mm or 18mm key pitch, which I think is the distance between keys, and the 18mm seem more comfortable for me. I have dainty midget hands. It's not a make or break thing for me, but are most mechanicals 19mm? The ones I've checked were.

[microsoft windows]

Just remember about the brown Cherry switches are they're Cherry Corp.'s low force switches. They do not give very noticeable tactile feedback.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Cherry Browns just feel like someone put a spring under a keycap and called it a keyswitch, they aren't clicky like a Model M.  For some reason I just can't type as well on Cherry Browns as I can on any other keyboard.

[Rajagra]

Cherry Browns just feel like someone put a spring under a keycap

Yes, they are that smooth, as if the keycap is touching nothing but the spring, just hovering there. I know you didn't mean it that way, but you've inadvertently pointed out why they are so pleasant once you've gotten used to them.

[Otterclock]

I once bought a $6.99 keyboard that was (and still is), the highest rated board on Newegg, and kinda liked it because the keys were so light and, at least to my ignorant fingers, smooth. The reviews for it are amusing, with claims that it will change your life, etc.

I took it apart to see how it worked, and then it didn't work anymore. I doubt I would like it now as much as I did then, prior to trying more boards, but still.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Yes, they are that smooth, as if the keycap is touching nothing but the spring, just hovering there. I know you didn't mean it that way, but you've inadvertently pointed out why they are so pleasant once you've gotten used to them.

The feeling of the keys is good, it is just I cannot seem to type as accurately on Cherry Browns as I can on other keyboards.  It is really a mystery to me.

[Otterclock]

yet some did well without it.



I can see having a blues board around too, for different moods. Most likely I will, but baby steps.. I'm high strung.

I thought I read somewhere hereabouts that Majestouch was on the verge of carrying some new stuff. I fear buying a board only to watch them come out with better keys, or something in teal.

[EverythingIBM]

yet some did well without it.

And others did exceedingly well WITH it:

Bill has a nice XT keyboard; I wonder if he still uses it...

He'll be keeping the monitor though;